'Unimaginable tragedy': Siemens executive, wife, and kids killed when helicopter crashes into Hudson River

A Bell 206 L-4 helicopter carrying six people — three children and three adults, including the pilot — crashed Thursday into the Hudson River, just off of Jersey City, New Jersey.

Footage of the incident shows the fuselage pitching backward and plummeting hundreds of feet into the cold waters below, its tail and main rotor system apparently shorn off. Moments after the helicopter crashes into the river, just missing a Jersey City pier, its rotor can be seen in the footage smashing into nearby waters.

New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch indicated that four victims were pronounced dead at the scene and two others were taken to Jersey City Medical Center, where they succumbed to their injuries. New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that all six passengers are deceased.

According to the Telegraph, Agustín Escobar, the technology company Siemens' CEO for rail infrastructure, was aboard along with his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children, ages 4, 5, and 11. The family, visiting from Spain, were on a sightseeing trip. They chartered a helicopter with Michael Roth's tour company, New York Helicopter.

'We're all devastated.'

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend, Agustin Escobar, and his beloved family," Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens, said in a statement Friday. "We will miss him and his family immensely."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the accident an "unimaginable tragedy."

President Donald Trump said in response to the tragic incident, "The footage of the accident is horrendous. God bless the families and friends of the victims."

The doomed aircraft left the Downtown Skyport in Manhattan at 2:59 p.m. and crashed roughly 15 minutes later.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy indicated that the tour helicopter was in New York's Special Flight Rules Area, "which means no air traffic control services were being provided when the helicopter crashed." Before the helicopter entered the area, air traffic control from LaGuardia airport was providing assistance.

Tisch indicated that shortly after passing the George Washington Bridge, the aircraft "lost control and hit the water."

The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating the incident.

Roth told the Telegraph, "He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn't arrive."

"We're all devastated. Every employee in our company is devastated. My wife has not stopped crying," said Roth.

"I got a call from my manager and my downtown heliport and she said she heard there was a crash, and then my phone blew up from everybody," continued Roth. "Then one of my pilots flew over the Hudson and saw the helicopter upside down."

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a statement Thursday evening that dive operations by the NYPD and New Jersey State Police would resume Friday, as major parts of the aircraft had not yet been recovered.

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